Cabinet door control



y 1960- c. P. CHAMBERLIN 2,935,035

CABINET nooa con-r1201.

Filed Nov. 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

INYENTOR CHARLES R Chub/BERLIN ATTORNEYS Filed Nov. 8, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CHARLES R CIMMBEPL/N BY: 74%! f ATTORNEYS United States Patent CABINET DOOR CONTROL Charles P. Chamberlin, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, assignor of one-fourth to Arthur Severs, Ontario, Canada Application November 8, 1957, Serial No. 695,309 4 Claims. or. 109-635) This invention relates to cabinets having hinged doors and inter-engaging latching elements on the body of the cabinet and the door. The. invention has particular application to the cabinets of domestic refrigerators where the latching elements are normally only operable by a handle on the outside of the cabinet door.

There have recently been a number of deaths of children every year due to the children finding themselves inside abandoned or unattended refrigerators with the door shut and no means of escape. Sincethe refrigerator cabinets are air-tight the children die of suffocation if not released within a comparatively shortspace of time.

I It is an object of the present invention to provide a cabinet having a body with a hinged door and inter-engageable latch elements on the door and the body with means to prevent the, latch elements from engaging if any one of the shelvesain the cabinet supports a load which is greater than a predetermined amount.

The predetermined load will be less than the weight of a child so that, if a child should enter such a cabinet, the weight of a child on a shelf will preventthe door latching and thus prevent the child being trapped.

It is a further object of the present invention vto provide a cabinet having removable shelves and a hinged door wherein, if any shelf is removed, the door is prevented from closing sufiiciently to allow the latch elements to inter-engage;

' Further objects and advantages of the invention will be readily determinable from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate similar parts in the several views and in which:

7 Figure 1 is a front elevation of a refrigerator cabinet embodying the invention with the door of the cabinet fully op Figure 2 is a part section on the line 2--2 of Figure 1 with the door shown in a partly open position, and Figures 3 and 4 are side and front elevations, on a larger scale, of a shutter forming part of the cabinet mechanism. 7

Referring now to the drawings, the refrigerator cabinetha's a body generally indicated at 10 with'a door 11 hinged to the body. Inter-engaging latch elements 12 and 13 are provided on the door and the body respectively and are of the conventional type which engage with 'one another when the door is fully closed and retain the door in. a closed state until they are released by a handle (not shown) on the outside of the door. The body of the refrigerator cabinet is provided with the usual freezer chest 14 and with three shelves 15, 16 and 17, the lowest shelt 17 forming the inside floor of the cabinet. The usual shelves 18 are provided in the inside of the door of the cabinet.

Mounted on the inside surface of the side wall of the cabinet which is remote from the door hinges, and adjacent to the front edge of the wall, is a vertical casing 19; Mounted in the casing are three shutters 20, 21

and 22 which are movable vertically and which are arranged side-by-side parallel with the side walls of the cabinet. The shutters are similar except as regards their lengths. Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the shutter 22 comprises a vertical stem 23 having at its upper end a flange 24 which lies in the same plane as the stem. At the lower end of the stem there is provided a lug 25 which extends at right angles to the plane of the stem 23 and the flange 24. The length of the stem of the shutter 21 is greater than the length of the stem 23 and the length of the stem of the shutter 20 is greater than the length of the stem of the shutter 21. The shutter 20 has 'a flange 26 and a lug 27 and the shutter 21 has a flange 28 and a lug 29. The shutters are arranged in the casing 19 so that their stems lie against one another and are parallel and the lugs protrude through slots in the wall 30 of the casing 19. The lug 25 protrudes through a slot 31 and the lug 29 protrudes through a slot 32, see Figure 2. a

Referring now to Figure 2, the flanges 24, 26 and 28 of theshutters are arranged in a box 33 at the top of the casing 19, the front wall of the box having an opening 34 through which may pass the end port.on of an abutment 35 which is fixed to the door 11. For the door to be able to close fully so that the latch elements may inter-engage, the end of the abutment 35 must be free to assume the position indicated at 35a'in dotted lines in Figure 2.

The shelf 15 has apair of side walls 36, one of which is slotted at 37 to accommodate the lug 25 of its associated shutter 22. The rear extremity of the shelf is provided with a pair of bent over portions 38 which test on a pair of pins 39 fixed to the side walls of the body of the cabinet; the shelf may thus pivot about the pins 39. Adjacent to the forward edge of the shelf 15 there are attached to the side walls of the cabinet 2 pair of brackets 40 each having a pair of projecting arms 41. Secured to the arms 41 and depending between them is a spring 42 of generally U-shaped configuration having a constricted neck portion 43. Depending from the shelf 15 is a pair of arms 44 each having an enlarged end 45 which, as shown in Figure 2, rests on the constricted neck portion of a spring 42.

The parts are dimensioned so that, in the position shown in Figure 2, the shelf 15 is held horizontal when the enlarged ends 45 of the arms 44 rest on the constricted neck portions of the springs 42. The engagement of the lug 25 of the shutter 22 in the slot 37 holds the shutter so that its flange 24 is clear of the path of the abutment 35, as shown in Figure 2. The shelves 16 and 17 are constructed and supported in a similar manner to that in which the shelf15 is constructed and supported; the shelf 16 rests on pins 39a at the rear of the cabinet and on resilient supports 46 at the front of the cabinet, the resilient supports 46 being identical to the assemblies 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 described with reference to the shelf 15. Similarly the shelf 17 rests upon resilient supports 47 at the front of the cabinet and on pins (not shown) at the rear of the cabinet. The shelf 16 has a pair of side walls 48, one of which is slotted at 49 to receive the lug 29 of the shutter 21 and the shelf 17 hasa pair of side walls 50, one of which is slotted to receive the lug 27 of the shutter 20. The shelves 16 and 17 are normally supported horizontally by the resilient supports 46 and 47 and in this position hold the flanges 26 and 28 of their associated shutters 20 and 21 in an upper position shown in Figure 1 and out of the path of the, abutment 35 as the door closes. It follows that when all the shelves are horizontal the door may close and the latch elements inter-engage. a

If a weight in excess of a predetermined amount is placed upon the shelf 15, the enlarged ends 45 of the arms 44 will be able to force apart the limbs of the springs 42 and will descend past the constricted necks 43 of the springs. The shelf will pivot about pins 39 and the lug 25 of the shutter 22 will be moved downwardly thus moving the flange 24 downwardly and into the path of the abutment 35 on the door. In Figure 2 the shelf 16 is shown in its lower position after an excessive weight has been placed upon it and the arms attached to the shelf have forced apart the limbs of its supporting springs. As a result of the movement, the lug 29 has descended, thus moving the flange 28 into the path of the abutment 35 as shown in Figure 2. The. abutment 35 is thus prevented from reaching the position 35a and the door is prevented from closing sufficiently for the latch elements 12 and 13 to inter-engage. The width of the abutment 35 is such that any of the flanges 24, 26 or 28 may block its path. It will be seen that, since all the shelves are arranged in an identical manner, if any weight in excess of a predetermined amount is placed upon one of the shelves, the shelf will move and in so moving will cause the flange of its associated shutter to block the path of the abutment 35 thus preventing the door closing sufficiently for the door to become latched and thus preventing a child from being trapped inside the refrigerator.

It will be seen that the abutment 35 may be considered as first abutment means and the flanges 24, 26, 28 of the shutters 20, 21 and 22 as second abutment means having a first state, as shown in Figure l, where they are out of the path of the abutment 35 and the door may close fully, and a second state, as shown for the flange 28 in Figure 2, where they are in the path of the abutment 35 and prevent the door from closing sufficiently to allow the latch elements to inter-engage.

It will be appreciated that the predetermined weight which is to be supported by a shelf before it moves will be less than the weight of an average child of the age likely to be caught in the refrigerator but greater than the weight of goods normally stored upon the refrigerator shelf. The predetermined load may be adjusted to the desired value by altering the stiffness of the U- springs which support the shelves. The stronger the spring then the greater will be the load before the shelf moves. Moreover, if any shelf is removed, which is effected by lifting away the bent over portions at the rear of the shelves from the pins at the rear of the cabinet and slipping the shelf sideways so that the slot in its side wall is disengaged from the lug of its associated shutter; the shutter thereby released will fall under its own weight until its lug comes into contact with the lower edge of the corresponding slot in the wall 30 of the casing 19. Asthe shutter falls, its flange will block the path of the abutment 35 and will prevent the door closing sufliciently for the latch elements to inter-engage. This arrangement is of considerable importance, since it is often whenthe shelves are removed and the door is left open for defrosting that a child is likely to enter the refrigerator. If a child does enter, since the latch elements are prevented from inter-engaging, the child will not be trapped inside.

Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to a refrigerator cabinet having three movable shelves connected to abutment means movable to prevent the door closing fully, it will be appreciated thatany convenient numberof such shelves may be provided. For example only the bottom shelf might be movably mounted and capable of actuating the abutment means since it is very likely that it would be onto the bottom shelf that a child would climb.

The invention provides a simple construction in which a child entering the refrigerator will automatically prevent the door being closed due to his weight upon one shelf or, if any of the shelves have been removed the door will be prevented from closing sufliciently for the latch elements to interengage so that in either case the child would be able to get out of the refrigerator without trouble.

It will be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is a preferred example and various modifications can be carried out without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In combination with a cabinet having a body, a door-opening in the body, a door to close the door-opening and inter-engaging latch elements on the door and the body; 'a vertically extending shutter supported adjacent to one edge of the door-opening for vertical movement between first and second positions, biasing means to bias the shutter to said first position, a shelf normally supported for limiting movement in the cabinet but removable therefrom, resilient means normally holding the shelf substantially horizontal when the latter is in the cabinet, releasable interengaging means on the shutter and the shelf which are engaged when the shelf is in the cabinet, first abutment means on the door, second abut ment means associated with the shutter and movable therewith, the second abutment means being in registration with the first abutment means when the shutter is in its first position and out of registration with the first abutment means when the shutter is in its second position, the shutter being held in its second position by the inter-engaging means when the shelf is horizontal, the first abutment means being dimensioned to engage the second abutment means when in registration therewith to hold the door open to prevent inter-engage ment of the latch elements, the application of a prede termined load to the shelf when the door is opened and the shelf is horizontal overcoming the resilient means and moving the shelf downwardly thus to move the shutter to its first position and bring the second abutment means into registration with the first abutment means to prevent inter-engagement of the latch elements, and removal of the shelf from the cabinet disengaging said inter-engaging means thus to permit the shutter to be moved to its first position by said biasing means.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the shutter is biased to said first position by its own weight.

3. In combination with a cabinet having a body, a dooropening in the body, a door to close the door-opening and inter-engaging latch elements on the door and the body; a plurality of vertically extending shutters supported sideby-side adjacent to one edge of the door-opening, for independent vertical movement betweenfirst and second positions, a plurality of shelves normally supported for limited movement in the cabinet, each shelf being associated with one of said shutters, independent resilient means associated with each shelf and normally holding it substantially horizontal when it is in the cabinet, releasable inter-engagingmeans on each associated shelf and shutter, said inter-engaging means being engaged when the shelf is in the cabinet, first abutment means on the door, second abutmentmeans associated with each shutter and movable therewith, thefirst abutment means being in registration with the second abutment means of a shutter whenthe latter is in is first position and out of registration with said second abutment means when the shutter is in its second position, the first abutment means being dimensioned to engage any of the second abutment means when in registration therewith to hold the door open to prevent interengagement of the latch elements, the appli-v cation of a predetermined load to a shelf when the door is open and the shelf is horizontal overcoming the resilient means associated with the shelf and moving the shelf downwardly thus to move the shutter associated with the shelf to its first position and to bring the second abutment means of the shutter into registration with the first abutment means to prevent inter-engagement of the latch elements, and removal of a shelf from the, cabinet disengag ing the inter-engaging means asssociated with the shelf thus to permit the shutter associated with the shelf to be moved to its first position by said biasing means.

4. The combination according to claim 3, wherein each shutter is biased to its first position by its own weight.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Stanley Dec. 21, 1926 

